Black Friday: ..... I see two things wrong with that title.

If you recognize the title, yes, it's from the Simpsons. The boys get a fake ID and go see a rated R movie called "Naked Lunch" and leave saying "I see two things wrong with that title." Funny because it bucks what the viewer's expectations are. However, when you mess with real life expectations..... not as funny.

This year, Black Friday is starting on.... Thursday at 8 PM. Yup, Thanksgiving night. Why the change? Well, my theories are because the more shoppers you can have the more money you make. Sounds legit. Retailers found out last year that by opening earlier (Midnight as opposed to 5 AM) they could get more people in the door. Great for their bottom line because, well more money. But what about for consumers?

For the hardcore Black Friday shoppers, these early times are not good. It's like Peyton Manning having to play with a bunch of high school kids. (I was going to use Kobe Bryant....but decided against that analogy.) Sure, the pro should have the advantage, but even a blind squirrel will be right twice a day....or something like that. Point is, the more people you put in the shops, the less chance that you can get the item(s) you want. Part of the "appeal" of Black Friday was "We get the deals because we're out here at 5 AM." All of a sudden you get a bunch of newbies going out because it's at midnight or 8 PM.

Also, it's called Black FRIDAY right? Am I missing something by starting it on the THURSDAY before? Which, as I mentioned, is Thanksgiving. Look, my family is fairly new to Thanksgiving, we don't have many traditions but we do like to cook and eat dinner with family. With a new 8 PM start time, that means we have to be done with dinner at... Noon? And what about employees of retail stores. Wal-Mart employees used to get most of Thanksgiving off because they were closed all day. Sure employees had to start coming in later at night to get set up, but they probably had time to have dinner and spend time with family before they had to go to work. I would not be surprised if some employees will have to go in around 2, to start the Black Friday preparations.

But.... what can we do? If their 8 PM sales fall flat, then retailers will rethink these early opening times. However, I fear, we as retailers, will feed the beast. So 8 PM sales might be something we have to get used to. This year, however, I do not think I will be part of that crowd. I will enjoy the extra dinner and family time before I do the midnight lines. If you so choose to go to 8 PM sales, please contact me before hand. I would love to get your account so I can blog to all the faithful readers here about how it goes.

Keep an eye on my Blog-ahol for more Black Friday updates. Any questions, please let me know! I would love to research it for ya! If you're heading out, I would love to hear from you and you can correspond for Blog-ahol.

PS. I'm looking to start a blog strictly focusing on financing, as soon as I figure out a name for it, I will start that. But for now, I'm a Blog-aholic, I can't live without my Blog-ahol.